Online Sports Psychology Degree Programs

You can pursue a sports psychology degree at the undergraduate or graduate levels. Specialization opportunities become more common in a master’s degree in sports psychology. To become a licensed sports psychologist, however, you need a doctoral degree. Some programs focus mainly or fully on athletics, while others focus more broadly on sports and performance psychology.

Many institutions have online sports psychology programs, which offer a convenient alternative to traditional on-campus learning. In most cases, however, clinical or field training occurs in person, meaning remote learners have to visit campus or other brick-and-mortar sites to complete their degree program.

Program objectives, coursework, and outcomes vary by degree level. Learn what you can expect from bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in sports psychology.

You can study sports, exercise, and performance psychology at the bachelor’s level through specialized degree programs. As an alternative, you can also build foundations by pursuing a general bachelor’s degree in psychology in a face-to-face or online format before pursuing a more specialized program as a graduate student.

Specialized bachelor’s programs in sports psychology typically cover:

Course content may also extend to topics like exercise physiology, the culture of sports, and athlete-focused counseling techniques.

Sports psychology master’s programs build on undergraduate foundations to explore performance psychology in deeper, more advanced detail. You can pursue your master’s degree online, on campus, or through a blend of both.

Curricula for a master’s degree in sports psychology typically cover:

Your master’s program may also include practicums, internships, clinical training, and/or research components. Some schools host specialized sports psychology lab facilities, which you can use to conduct research.

If standardized testing requirements apply, they will likely cover the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the GRE Subject Test in psychology.

Doctoral programs in sports psychology usually lead students to the Ph.D. designation, but you can also pursue a more clinically focused doctor of psychology (Psy.D.) degree. Schools with Psy.D. doctoral tracks often allow students to self-direct their academic programming, including for sports psychology.

At this level, your studies delve into highly targeted subtopics within sports psychology. Doctoral curricula usually place heavy emphasis on research and typically build toward a research dissertation.

Note that the American Psychological Association (APA) does not currently accredit fully online doctoral degrees. This is important because your state’s psychology licensing body may require that you hold an APA-endorsed doctorate to qualify for a license.

As a sports psychologist, you can work with athletes and coaches, but it doesn’t have to end there. Sports psychologists, also known as sport and performance psychologists or performance enhancement specialists, can also collaborate with:

A sports psychology degree can lead to both clinical and non-clinical careers. The most familiar clinical role is that of a licensed sports psychologist, which requires a doctoral degree and 1,500-6,000 clinical hours.

The table below introduces sports psychology career paths, along with three non-clinical roles. Profiled careers include options for professionals with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

Sources: BLS, Payscale, ZipRecruiter

The graphs below highlight National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data covering tuition and required fees at two-year and four-year institutions. Note that these schools exclusively award associate and bachelor’s degrees. While these figures are not exclusive to sports psychology, they do provide national data averages.

As of February 2025, the most recent available NCES graduate tuition data covers the 2021-22 school year, when students at public schools paid an average of $12,596 and their private-school counterparts paid an average of $28,017.

A variety of factors influence tuition costs. Some of the key elements that affect these costs include:

Admission requirements for sports psychology programs vary significantly at different degree levels. The following is an overview of some criteria you may encounter.

In addition to a high school diploma or the equivalent, you may need:

Schools may also prefer or require AP coursework in mathematics or statistics.

Sports psychology master’s programs often require a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a similar field. You may also need to submit GRE scores, a personal essay or statement of purpose, and multiple letters of recommendation.

Having a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and above may strengthen your application.

At the doctoral level, you likely need a bachelor’s or master’s degree in psychology, a strong academic record, and a compelling statement of purpose that explains your research and professional interests.

Some doctoral programs also prefer applicants with in-field paid or volunteer work experience.

Your graduation timeline depends on your degree level, whether you study part or full time, and whether you have any transferable credits or other credentials that qualify you for advanced standing.

The following table summarizes typical program completion timelines, assuming you enter the program with regular standing and maintain full-time enrollment:

For bachelor’s and master’s degrees, your primary focus will be on accreditation. Ensure the school you attend is accredited by an organization the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes.

At the doctoral level, programmatic accreditation is more relevant. Some states require you to hold an APA-accredited doctorate to qualify for licensure.

When comparing options at the graduate level, pay special attention to programmatic accreditation. You may have to enroll in a regular Ph.D. or Psy.D. doctoral program in psychology and personalize your learning around sports psychology to secure your degree from an APA-accredited school.

You can use this resource to locate APA-approved graduate psychology programs.

Sports psychology degrees require significant time and financial investment. From a qualitative point of view, the degree provides value if you aspire to a career in sports psychology and the schooling helps you reach that goal.

Quantitative analysis can also help you determine your degree’s potential return on investment. To calculate ROI, you need to know or estimate:

The more you can save on your education costs, the better the return on investment. To that end, consider money-saving strategies like: